


Born For This

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Dom/sub, F/M, M/M, Soul Bond, soul mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-07 23:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5474543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be him and Steve against the world, soul mates for all eternity.  When it had turned out he was a submissive it hadn't actually changed anything, just made their circumstances more complex.  He and Steve were meant for each other after all.</p><p>But then the war had come, a terrible fall and no matching mark.</p><p>Seventy years had passed, and nothing was as it should be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The Soul Mark bug hit me again, this time for Steve and Bucky. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Please leave comments, your ideas, requests, and praise inspire me.

No one had ever really expected Bucky to present in the way he did. No, the way it had happened was more apt to happen to someone like Steve, someone sickly and small, plagued by disease and weakness.

It had been a hot autumn day, one of the last before winter’s chill would begin to set in. It was also a rare day that either of the boys did not have work, Bucky selling papers on the corner or running messages for the dock workers as twelve was deemed to young to yet be working regularly at the docks, and Steve painting signs or sketching out illustrations. The boys and a few other’s around there age from the neighborhood, the tolerable ones, the ones who weren’t the sort of bullies Steve picked fights with regularly, had gathered in the street to play a game of stickball.

It was Bucky’s turn at bat. Bucky had always been exceptional at batting, he was tall for his age, with a long reach, and fast too, the fastest of all the boys in the neighborhood. But what made him good, what made him the best was that he never missed a hit.

So Steve knew something was up when the first pitch zoomed past Bucky without the other boy so much as twitching.

“Come on Barnes,” teased Andrew Signorelli from two apartments down the hall from the Barnes’. “You can do better than that.”

Bucky just leaned back a grin wide on his face, “Just waiting for the perfect pitch buddy, one I can hit way out of the park.” That bravado was enough to convince the other boys but Steve could tell something was wrong. Bucky was pale and sweating, his eyes glassed over with a far off look. Something bad was about to happen.

Andrew didn’t bother saying anything, just wound up for the next pitch. This time when the ball zoomed past there was no taunting, just a whole lot of shouting and running.

Bucky had collapsed, eyes rolled back into his head and his legs crumpled beneath him as he fell.

Steve was the first at his friends side despite the fact that he hadn’t been the closest nor was he the fastest of the boys. He had the unconscious Bucky’s head in his lap and had already checked his pulse and breathing. Both were slow but regular, no immediate danger yet. “Go get Bucky’s parents,” he demanded of one of the other boys. “They’ll get him help.”

__

They got Bucky back to the Barnes’ apartment, Dr. Thomas was called and Steve was sent on his way, back to his own mother. 

Sarah, having at least a slight idea of what might have come to pass, made Steve wait. Only three hours, but for Steve it felt like an eternity.

When they finally arrived at the Barnes’ little shoe box of an apartment it was already nightfall. Sarah had made a tin of brown bread, it wasn’t much, but it was the most that she could do at the time.

Bucky’s mom was the one who answered the door. “Winifred, we came over as soon as we could to see how James was doing,” Sarah handed over the bread as they stepped into the apartment.

Bucky’s mom’s eyes were red and puffy as though she had been crying. The apartment was in shambles as well, a few pieces of furniture overturned, a lamp shattered, and Bucky’s father no where to be seen. George Barnes wasn’t not prone to fits of rage, so whatever happened must have been bad.

“Oh Winnie, what is it,” Sarah murmured the moment she saw the state of the apartment.

Winifred wiped the last remains of tears away from her face and straightened here spine. “James presented today, it came on suddenly and rather unexpectedly, that was why he passed out so suddenly.” She paused long, as though she had to collect her thoughts before she continued on. “His marked showed up less than an hour later, it was not a B.”

Sarah drew in a sharp breath and Steve’s eyes grew wide. That was unexpected, very, very unexpected. “You mean that...”

“Yes, he presented as a submissive,” She managed to choke out before dissolving into tears. Financially, Bucky presenting as a submissive was probably the worst thing that could have happened to their family. The family needed every bit of money their son could help bring in, and working in the docks, as he likely would have had he presented as a dominant or at the very least baseline in a few years, would have brought in the best money, but a submissive would have never been allowed to work at the docks. It would have been deemed to strenuous, too labor intensive for such a delicate creature.

“Winnie, shh, it will be fine,” Sarah steered Winifred down to one of the chairs and worked to calm her down. “Everything is going to be ok, Dr. Thomas is discreet, and it was a hot day, the heat just got to James. No one needs to know that he presented. James is young and strong, he can pass as baseline.”

Winifred wiped away more tears and nodded before turning to Steve, “James is out on the fire escape, you should go see him Steven, he could use some comfort right now.”

Steve nodded before scrambling into the bedroom, only glancing briefly at the crib Becca was napping in before he was out the window and onto the fire escape.

Bucky was leaning against the railing, blanket wrapped around him, hair a mess and features pale.

“Hey Buck,” Steve settled down across from his friend. “How are you doing.”

Bucky shifted, blue eyes fixing on his friend, “I’m fine now Stevie, just trying to figure out how this happened.”

“Not exactly how we had planned,” Steve replied with a wan smile. They hadn’t expected Bucky to turn out as a sub, that should have been Steve. It would have explained so much after all. The boys had always planned to be a match, knew they were soul mates since they were seven, the only proof they had needed would have been matching Marks, the letter B on their skin, marking James as Steve’s Dom. Now it would be up to Steve to take up that mantle, which as it stood now was almost laughably unlikely.

“Not exactly no,” Bucky responded wryly, “although it explains a thing or two.” It explained things he had never shared with Steve, like how he had always liked following orders, how he enjoyed sitting at another’s feet, that sense that he had done something right, had done something to please someone.

“Your mark showed up?” Steve questioned, but he already knew the answer, his mother had claimed as much. Bucky only nodded. “May I see it,” asked Steve. He had to know, even if it might break his heart if Steve bore anything other than an R.

Bucky shifted forward, shrugging out of the blanket and tugging the hem of his shirt up. There on pale flesh, on the right side of Bucky’s torso was an ornately scripted R. 

Steve felt a grin spread across his features, one that matched the same that was gracing Bucky’s lips. “It’s not quite what we had hoped I know, but I think the both of us can manage to create some good from this.”

“It’s no guarantee that my mark will match,” Steve protested, that being the only thing that might dampen his current mood.

“I think we both know that there is no one better suited for each other in this world than us two,” Bucky responded, dragging Steve’s smile back to the surface. “Give it a few days, a week at most and you shall have a matching Mark, I can guarantee it.”

Empty guarantee’s, years would pass, a war would come, and more than simply the absence of a Mark would separate them for near an eternity.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is not MCU compliant obviously.

"How is he," called a soft voice from the opposite side of the room, followed by the sharp click of a door closing. 

Steve tore his eyes away from the glass and the body huddled against the wall on the other side for a brief moment to glance over his shoulder at Natasha before returning his gaze to were it had previously lay. "Not good. He's refusing to eat, hasn't let a single one of the doctors within twenty feet of him without threatening violence and hasn't been put through a drop since before the helicarriers went down. At this rate he'll send his system into shock sometime in the next 48-73 hours." The body in the other room shifted and as it did Steve leaned forward, hoping for some movement, some sign that his friend, his lover was in there somewhere, only to be disappointed when the brunette only moved to curl further into himself. Bucky was in bad shape, had been since the they had found him in that warehouse just outside of DC and he was rapidly deteriorating. He was the thinnest Steve had ever seen him, even thinner than back when they were dirt broke and Bucky would skip meals routinely just to make sure Steve had enough, his hair was lank and dirty, skin so pale the R on his ribs stood out in sharp relief, almost taunting Steve. Standing there as a constant reminder of what he couldn't have and what had been stolen from them by Hydra. "Any sign of Rumlow," as much as it pained him to even think it, they needed the Hydra agent. Bucky hadn't been put under a sub drop for nearly six months now, if he didn't go under soon he would be headed for a painful crash. And unfortunately, this time around it wouldn't due for Steve to put him under. He needed some one with a closer bond. He needed his Handler, his soulmate. 

Natasha shook her head, "we had him tracked down to a safe house outside of Kansas City, but after that the trail goes cold." She paused for a moment to peer in at the man on the other side of the glass, he had raised his head as though he sensed her presence, a pair of piercing blue eyes pinning both her and Steve in place. "We're running out of time Rogers. If he doesn't go under soon it's likely he'll have a complete mental breakdown."

Steve grit his teeth as he spit out the response, "I'm aware Nat, but there's not much I can do without his soulmate." It was a pain point for Steve, that someone like Rumlow could have a closer bond to Bucky, that that monster could be the person the love of his life actually needed. 

"According to the history books you acted as his Dom throughout the war, despite the fact that you lacked a mark of your own. As a matter of fact most everyone assumed you and he were a bonded pair," Natasha was right, that was the pragmatic approach, have Steve put Bucky through the drop to stave off whatever fallout was to come from going so long without it, he'd done it before of course. 

"I can't," he answered. And as painful as that was, it was the truth. He had tried to put Bucky under the moment they found him, and it hadn't worked. Bucky had been fully able to resist all attempts by any Dom to put him under. It wasn't something anyone had seen before, but if Steve's suspicions were right then Hydra had instilled it in the Sub as a fail safe on the off chance anyone ever discovered his status and attempted to use it to put a stop to the Winter Soldier. If only his bonded soulmate could put him under than Hydra had the key to not only keeping the Winter Soldier from being inhibited by his status, but also the key to keeping him loyal and ensuring he would always return to their clutches. 

Natasha nodded, she understood. After all she had heard the legends, seen the Winter Soldier in action first hand, on multiple occasions. A Sub like that, their only weakness would be an errant Dom trying to force the drop on them, so of course Hydra would condition that out of him. "If Rumlow's our only option then we have to give him some incentive to turn himself in, a reason to come back to Shield."

Steve's gaze was torn away from Bucky once more to Natasha. "You can't mean what I think you do."

A grin spread on Natasha's face. "It's instinct for a bonded Dom to seek out their other half. The bond runs two ways Steve, it's a hindrance for both parties, not just the bonded Sub. Rumlow will be in nearly as rough shape as James and once we make it clear we have his Sub he'll come running back to us."

As much as Steve hated the idea of using Bucky as bait, desperate times called for desperate measures. 

\--

"You want to tell me where Winter is now or are you going to keep me waiting?" Rumlow was an absolute mess when they picked him up near Arlington. His face was covered in a few days worth of stubble, hair greasy and matted. He was pale and thinner than the last time Steve had seen him, the dark bruising beneath his eyes standing out in sharp relief. A series of burn scars wound their way up from his throat across the right side of his face and into his hairline, matching the burns on both of his arms and serving as a constant reminder of the day the helicarriers went down and he was trapped wreckage of the Triskillion. 

"First we need a few pieces of information," Steve was glad Natasha had taken the lead on this as he was about two minutes from leaping across the observation room, over the table where Nat and Rumlow were seated, and pummeling the Hydra agent. 

Rumlow's features split into a predatory grin and he leaned forward. The deranged look on his face paired with his gaunt features was unsettling. Clearly in the wake of the fall of Hydra something had come unhinged. Were they actually considering letting this monster anywhere near Bucky

"Doesn't work that way sweetheart," Rumlow's voice was low and gravely, the same guttural rasp Steve could remember. "You need me, Winter needs me. If anything I should be asking you for information in exchange for this favor."

Steve was spitting out his angry reply before he even had a chance to process the words. "Caring for your mate shouldn't be a fucking favor, like some sort of fucking job."

Rumlow's dark eyes locked on Steve now and his distorted grin grew even wider. "Oh no Rogers, no fucking Winters not going to be work for me, not in the slightest."

"You won't even get to touch James until you answer a few questions," Natasha cut in before Steve could respond, her even temper saving the day once more as Steve fumed on the other side of the room. "And even then you are only to put him through the drop, nothing more, noting less."

"Whatever you say Romanoff," Rumlow answered, leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest as best the chains holding him to the table would allow. "Fire away Widow."

"When did you first learn you and Barnes had matching Marks?"

"1987, three months after I had been recruited by Hydra. After I had carried out four successful missions and taken out three former agents attempting to desert they deemed that I was committed enough to the ideals of the organization to warrant sharing with me that Winter's mark matched my own. It served as incentive to keep us both close."

"Your first interaction with Barnes?"

"1991, Winter was taken off of ice to deal with a certain Soviet performer that was beginning to be a bit vocal about his qualms with the Russian regime. Of course all of that was just a warm up for the true prize. God I wish I could have seen the look on Stark's face when he realized it was good old Bucky Barnes standing in the middle of that road. Guess it was fitting, after all Stark practically turned over the entire arctic circle looking for Cap and didn't even bat an eyelash when Barnes fell from that train. Karma's a beautiful thing sometimes."

"And when did you complete the Bond."

"2011, less than a week after Cap came out of the ice."

"Any reason why they waited so long."

Rumlow shrugged. "He'd spent most of the nineties and early two-thousands on ice, hadn't needed to go through the drop so there was no reason to. After Cap came out something snapped, he got edgy, unpredictable. By that point he'd been conditioned so that only Pierce and a few other higher ups could put him under. Without the bond I still wouldn't be able to put him under. He went rogue on a mission, I did what I had to in order to contain him."

"So bonding with your soulmate was a means to an end," snapped Steve. 

"At the time, yes," answered Rumlow, voice even and his face not even betraying the slightest bit of remorse. "Not that it wasn't enjoyable in its own right. Winters one of the goddamn best Subs you could ever ask for. Sweet as can be with a talent for making even the most miserable piece of shit Dom feel like they hung the fucking moon. But you already knew that, didn't you Rogers."

"We're done here," Natasha stated as she snapped the folder containing Rumlow's information shut, effectively cutting off the brawl that had nearly occurred. "We have everything we need."

"How the fuck did you get anything out of that," sputtered Rumlow. 

"I got enough," Natasha answered as she stood from the table. "An agent will be with you shortly to escort you to Barnes containment room. You are to perform the drop on him, and only that, and see him through the necessary after care to ensure there are no adverse physical or mental effects from going so long without a drop. We will be monitoring you and should you attempt anything I cannot guarantee your safety, clear?"

"Crystal," Rumlow's response was dripping with sarcasm. 

"Good," Natasha turned to leave, "let's go Rogers, we have arrangements that need to be made."

Steve obediently followed her out, but he had no problem voicing his protests the moment the door had closed behind them. "You can't seriously be considering allowing that psychopath near Bucky."

"I need you to trust me on this one Cap," Natasha answered. "We may not like Rumlow, but for James' sake we do have to work with him."

She was right, fucking hell she was, but Steve still wanted to throttle the other man for what he had done, what he was. Everything would have been so much easier if Steve had just had a matching mark, everything would have worked out then. 

Sometimes it's best to be careful what you wish for.


End file.
